The OPEN signs out on sidewalks and in the windows of our stores in Virden and our hair salons was a welcome taste of normalcy this week. Now, Manitobans everywhere, including the relatively safe town of Virden need to continue every measure we have become so adept at and not take our growing liberty for granted.
The last thing we need is for businesses and services to have to shut down. Again. That mustn’t happen.
It didn’t seem fair to allow us to buy jeans or sweaters in Wall Mart or Super Store while Virden clothing stores had to be shut. The opportunity to contract COVID-19 would seem much smaller in a small Virden store than in a Brandon store attracting hundreds of customers through their doors on a daily basis.
So, let’s keep doing the things we have learned to do. Avoid personal contact (distance two metres). Use the hand sanitizer provided by the stores and the other places we can now visit, like libraries and museums.
Wash thoroughly when you get home. Sanitize the steering wheel and other things inside your vehicle. What about your cell phone? Maybe wipe it down with alcohol after a trip to the store.
Hair salons can take customers. However, I have heard that some business owners/staff are not thrilled about that. Working with hair requires close contact. Take your mask to the appointment (home made cotton is fine) and wear it.
Health services such as the optometrist require that as well, and they will check with you the day before your appointment to ensure that you don’t have any symptoms.
Keep up the hand sanitization, keep your hands away from your face and cough into your sleeve. Incidentally, many of us have allergies and cough frequently. We’re not sick.
You may not come down with a sore throat and a fever, and yet you may have COVID-19. People have reported non-typical symptoms like nausea, stomach pains and dizziness along with a general feeling of malaise. For some, the symptoms of illness don’t last but a couple of days and they’re done. Great.
However, to avoid making people sick, those who would not fare so well, we need to pay attention to any unwellness.
There are some very vulnerable people in our midst and yet we need to re-open this province. Can we do it safely using what we now know to avoid the spread of germs?
